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Malus (Greek for apple). Rosaceae. Apple. Most botanists prefer to unite the apple and pear in the one genus Pyrus; this is the method of Bentham & Hooker in "Genera Plantarum," and of Focke in Engler & Prantl's "Pflanzenfamilien," although the recent excellent work of Schneider, "Handbuch der Laubholzkunde," keeps them distinct, as do some of the recent American authors. The evident botanical distinctions between the two groups are slight, apparently not sufficient for easy or clear determination by the unprofessional student. These differences lie in the usual presence of grit-cells in the fruits of Pyrus and their usual absence in Malus: in the hypanthium of the former being nearly closed by a cushion, and in the latter free or open; in the cavity about the stem of the fruit in Malus, a contrast which does not hold in Pyrus; and in the styles of Pyrus being distinct or nearly distinct, whereas in Malus they are more or less united. The different degrees of union of the styles has been made a basis for distinguishing the named varieties of apples among themselves, and the character does not appear to be important enough to be made the basis of generic separation. It is not impossible that the pears and apples may have had a different phylogenetic origin, but this fact itself would not be sufficient in generic description.—The apples are small trees and bushes, of some fifteen to twenty species in the North Temperate Zone. In this Cyclopedia, the cultivated apple species are described under Pyrus; the names of the leading species under Malus are as follows:
M. sylvestris, MiU.—Pyrus Mains.
M. prunifolia, Borkh. - P. prunifolia.
M. baccata, Borkh.- P. baccata.
M. coronaria, Mill.- P. coronaria.
M. ioensis, Brit.- P. ioensis.
M. Soulardii, Brit.-P. Soulardii.
M. angustifolia, Michx.-P. angustifolia.
M. Halliana, Koehne-P. Halliana.
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{{about|the genus Malus|other uses|Malus (disambiguation)}}
{{about|the genus Malus|other uses|Malus (disambiguation)}}
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